Published Tuition and Fees Relative to 1988-89, by Sector

In 2018-19, the average in-state tuition and fee price in the public four-year sector is about three times as high in inflation-adjusted dollars as it was in 1988-89. In the public two-year and private nonprofit four-year sectors, published prices are 2.15 and 2.11 times as high in 2018-19 as they were in 1988-89, respectively.

Notes & Sources

NOTES: Figure 4B shows published tuition and fees by sector, adjusted for inflation, relative to 1988-89 published prices. For example, a value of 3.04 indicates that the tuition and fee price in the public four-year sector in 2018-19 is 3.04 times as high as it was in 1988-89, after adjusting for increases in the Consumer Price Index. Average tuition and fee prices reflect in-district charges for public two-year institutions and in-state charges for public four-year institutions.

Published tuition and fee prices moved at about the same rate in the public two-year and four-year sectors from 1988-89 through 1999-00, rising by about 50%. By 2009-10, however, the public four-year price had risen by another 63%, compared with just 21% at public two-year colleges. Since that time, the rate of price increase has been similar in the two sectors.

Median family income in the United States increased at an average rate of 0.9% per year between 1988 and 1998, 0.0% per year between 1998 and 2008, and 0.8% per year between 2008 and 2017 (after adjusting for inflation). Median family income was 18% higher in 2017 than in 1987. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 Income Data, Table F-7; calculations by the authors)